Health

Does a viral video offer evidence that children's faces are being "harvested" in China or anywhere in the world to be transplanted onto female recipients trying to look younger? No, that's not true: Both Mandarin subtitles and original voice-overs in the video discussed facelifts -- a much more common surgical procedure that doesn't require any other person's face. Face transplants…

Does a video on social media show a woman named Alexis Lorenze suffering a typical reaction to DTaP, meningitis and pneumonia vaccines? No, that's not true: An expert contacted by Lead Stories said he has "seen this many times" in patients diagnosed with the same rare blood disorder Lorenze claims to have. Another expert stated that Lorenze's physical response to…

Did Bill Gates invent an implantable, wireless "birth control microchip"? No, that's not true: Although the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded grants to companies working on an implantable contraception device, there is no evidence that Gates personally developed the device. A version of the device was in the preclinical trial stage at the time of the writing of…

Are Apple-A-Day buckets of horse electrolytes safe for human consumption, as a post on X claimed? No, that's not true: The company that produces Apple-A-Day buckets has stated it has not been tested for humans and that the Food and Drug Administration has not approved it for human consumption. A nutritionist told Lead Stories that people should not take animal…

Was a 2024 recall of instant ramen noodles linked to deaths of five children in the U.S., as a post on TikTok suggested? No, that's not true: At the time of this publication, one voluntary recall was listed on the Food and Drug Administration website for Sun Noodles products because they may contain undeclared egg white powder. Sun Noodles confirmed…

Does taking a shower prevent the skin from absorbing vitamin D from sunlight? No, that's not true: Medical experts confirmed to Lead Stories that vitamin D is made in living cells in the skin and thus cannot be washed off. The person giving this advice is Barbara O'Neill, a controversial naturopath who was banned from practice in Australia. The claim…

Is a 2024 article on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines by Dr. Young Mi Lee, an obstetrician and gynecologist in South Korea, and Daniel Broudy, an applied linguistics professor at Okinawa Christian University in Japan a valid, well-done scientific study? No, that's not true: The article -- titled "Real-Time Self-Assembly of Stereomicroscopically Visible Artificial Constructions in Incubated Specimens of mRNA Products Mainly…

Does a video posted on X authentically show New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unable to open her left eye? No, that's not true: Lead Stories traced the clip back to its original version on YouTube, which showed Hochul with both eyes open and blinking normally while recording a public service announcement for the COVID-19 vaccine. The video was digitally altered.…

Is milk chocolate "fine" to feed dogs, while dark chocolate is toxic for them? No, that's not true: A professor told Lead Stories that both kinds of chocolate are toxic for dogs. Milk chocolate has less of the toxic compound in chocolate, theobromine, than dark chocolate but it does have it. The Food and Drug Administration does not recommend feeding…

Did a World Economic Forum report confirm that upwards of 6 billion people of Earth's 8 billion occupants will die in 2025, as online outlet The People's Voice said? No, that's not true: the only "report" cited by The People's Voice to support that statement is an old population-reduction prediction of a much smaller size by a website named Deagel.com…

Will bioengineered rennet, an enzyme necessary for cheese production and made primarily by Pfizer, make you sick, as a video on Facebook implies? No, that's not true: Rennet is not considered genetically modified and is safe for human health, several experts told Lead Stories. Rennet is used to generate the final cheese product, but is not an ingredient in cheese,…

Is the mpox vaccine loaded with HIV, as a video shared by The People's Voice claims? No, that's not true: The People's Voice is a website with a long history of publishing made-up news, and it provided no sources -- aside from a supposed whistleblower -- to back up the claims made in the video. The ingredient list and package…

Is the monkeypox virus known to spread through airborne transmission, as suggested by a post on Instagram Threads? No, that's not true: Global health agencies agree that the primary way the virus is spread is through close or direct contact between an uninfected and infected person's body fluids, lesions or saliva, plus contaminated clothing or bedding. The U.S. Department of…

Did "Shark Tank" investor Lori Greiner endorse a neuropathy or neuralgia medication? No, that's not true: An AI-detection tool found the video saying this has been altered to include fake audio that sounds like Greiner. The original video of Greiner never even mentioned neuropathy, it was an interview about starting a business. The claim appeared in a video on Facebook…

Does a 2017 paper on resveratrol suggest it could be used to stop or treat monkeypox as part of the public health emergency declared in August 2024? No, that's not true: An author of the paper told Lead Stories that resveratrol was never tested on humans or animals in their research, and it's "unclear if it suppresses poxvirus replication." An…

Had doctors aboard the Brazilian airline flight that crashed in August 2024 vowed to release evidence linking mRNA technology to "turbo cancer", as an article by The People's Voice said? No, that's not true: The People's Voice is a website with a long history of publishing made up news and it provided no sources to back up the part about…

Did the World Health Organization order governments to "Prepare for 'Mega Lockdowns' Due to 'Deadly Monkeypox' Strain"? No, that's not true: WHO responded to a Lead Stories inquiry about the report of orders for lockdown preparation with "It is false." Preparations for or even the suggestion of major lockdowns because of the monkeypox virus would be major news worldwide, yet…

Did Leonardo Ferreira die in a Brazil plane crash in August 2024, as a post on X claimed? No, that's not true: Leonardo Ferreira, the man shown in the video, confirmed to Lead Stories that he is alive and well. Another man with the same last name, retired professor José Roberto Leonel Ferreira, was killed in the crash, according to…

Did Japan declare a state of emergency in August 2024 after "nanobots" were found in 96 million citizens? No, that's not true: A state of emergency in Japan would be major news worldwide and yet there have been no stories about it. The "news" came from a website with a reputation for making things up. The journal article the website…

Did psychologist Jordan Peterson endorse a book called "The Herbal Tablets"? No, that's not true: An online analysis tool found with 97 percent confidence that the audio was generated by AI. The audio track was dubbed over a video clip from Peterson's recent appearance on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast. A search of the original podcast transcript does not contain…